1000 Istanbul Biennial Posters distributed in Copenhagen

Developed for the 9th Istanbul Biennial in 2005, 1000 Istanbul Biennial posters distributed in Copenhagen is a collaboration between SUPERFLEX and Jens Haaning. The work consisted of bringing 1000 official Istanbul Biennial posters to Copenhagen, where they were put up around the city. The displaced posters sat alongside a variety of other posters depicting local political, commercial and cultural characters.

The starting point for the project was a request from the curators of the Biennial, Charles Esche, Glasgow and Vasıf Kortun, Istanbul for developing a concept, which relates to the current situation in Istanbul. While spending some time in Istanbul this summer, the interest of the artists quickly extended to also include aspects of Turkey’s exchange with other parts of the world, especially its relation to the European Union, including Denmark and the fact that a big number of people of Turkish origin are living in the European Union. Further more they have also been interested in the cultural phenomena of the Biennial, which is a central European concept and today often used as a Westernization of cities and countries outside Central Europe such as Gwangju, South Korea, Tirana, Albania and Istanbul, Turkey. It is the hope that the project “1000 Istanbul Biennial posters distributed in Copenhagen” can be used as a frame for reflection related to Istanbul, the Turkish situation and its exchange with other countries and cultures.